Black Rock Shooter – 03

Nope, the school counselor isn’t suspicious at all — no more suspicious than if she wore a shirt that says “Hi, I’m Black Gold Saw and I’m Evil” anyway. This episode sure wasn’t subtle about getting that point across on numerous occasions, starting with her mockery of Yomi and continuing on to her insistence on trying to crack Arata after the latter’s love letter was childishly put on display by a spineless guy whom she confessed to. Forget flags; these signs were huge billboards.

Granted, the question still remains on why Saya will take the time to hear students out when she doesn’t really care about their problems. Judging from what happened in the other world, it’s almost as if she wants to be adored and relied upon by helpless individuals — kind of in a self-satisfaction way. A more plausible explanation — based on what she said about how there’s “somebody” out there to shoulder one’s pain — is that she injects feelings of doubt and insecurity within the students in order to use them as “emotional meat shields” for her own heart. If they’re suffering, then she doesn’t have to, sort of like a zero-sum game. If they’re freed from her “grasp”, much like BRS did here by blowing them away, then all the painful emotions that she’s offloaded to the students — to the point that they’re nothing but former shells of themselves — come rushing back to her.

Assuming that’s the case, it would explain why she suddenly teared up and quickly preyed on Arata as a replacement. It would also explain why she teared up uncontrollably again at the end, after BRS didn’t hesitate to lop off Arata’s head in the other world, effectively freeing her with a “scream of death” like Kagari last time. I presume Arata will be feeling a lot better once she comes to, considering how mellow Kagari was afterward, though the preview does make me wonder if the vicious cycle is fated to repeat itself. Whatever the case, that’s my best interpretation on what might be going on in the figurative alternate world, especially since the episode title seems to refer to Saya more than anyone else.

As for Yomi, it looks like she’s headed down the same path as the OVA where she becomes extremely jealous of Yuu. Compared to Saya, Yomi’s inner turmoil is a lot more subtle, but anyone who’s seen the OVA will be quick to pick up on where this will lead. The preview already hints at Deadmaster taking out her “frustration” on BRS, so we might be in store for a gruesome 2v1 next time after this relatively quiet episode on the action front.

ThankGod a show with consistency. After Guilty Crown shell shocks me with the train wreck plot, this always rebounds me like a good “girl friend”. Consistent, well paced, AWESOME… A very cathartic show and really, that’s what it is all about. As for that girl… I don’t know if Black Rock should have killed her. I dunno BRS just does what she wants… Hopefully it’s for the best.

That’s an interesting way to look at what’s been going on in the alternate world. Schadenfreude is not cool!
An evil school counselor and Yomi who’s getting increasingly insecure would mean there’s more sadistic fun to come. Can’t wait for next week ;)

Oh dang, and Kuroi was soooo close to freeing Deadmaster last time. I wonder if Saya has conscious control of Black Gold Saw in the otherworld, because it seems like Kuroi doesn’t really have complete consciousness of BRS. Maybe she’ll develop it.

With so few episodes, I wouldn’t be surprised if Strength jumps in in the middle of the DM battle, like DM did with Chariot. Either way, it’ll be soon.

Mamiko Noto… I don’t care what she voices, she can read the Japanese phone book and I’d listen to every word. That voice is just the perfect combo of sweet and comforting with a touch of sexy, which makes it a dangerous draw for an evil guidance counselor XD

I agree with you, the woman sounds like the most beautiful agel in the Heavens, but you must see his performance in the Kara no Kyokai movies, Se was the most awsome twisted murderest girl I´ve ever seen, It was a delight to watch.

higurashi was slice-of-life, and they had people beaten to death by a bat, nails pulled out of their roots, needles in food, blood scratches, etc.
this is all pretty tame, really. macaroons ammo and all.

I feel like I’m enjoying this show for the wrong reasons. The drama is over-the-top that I find it entertaining. Especially with jealous Yomi and Mato crying for Arata. Still if their emotions are tied to the Other World it might explain all the drama, so I’m enjoying the slow reveal. This episode needed some more awesome action scenes though.

I’ve uh… got to say, the transitions in BRS are awful, while the drama is way too unbelievable to be… believable. Also, there’s been zero explanation about the Other World, although the most logical reasoning behind it is that it represents the real world events taking place. Yet, I’m still enjoying it, a lot. For me at least, BRS is like a Michael Bay film: you roll your eyes, you get nauseous at the drama, but you just can’t look away. It’s just fun. Pure, unadulterated fun.

i sense a disturbance in the force and this episode strongly suggests who’s the one behind it! also divine… did you catch the scene where she appeared to talk to someone? just before she took a look at the school register?

cant wait for the next episode and the new kagari is EXPONENTIALLY CREEPIER than the old one.

Oh man those little hooded shadow people in BRS’s world are about as creepy as it gets. Did anyone else instantly think of the game “Limbo” when they saw those guys too? Excellent game if you havent, check it out.

Excellent episode though – this show is easily in the top 3 this season.

Mamiko Noto had a suicidal role in the anime Shadow Star Narutaru(manga was better). The character she plays: Akira Sakura is by far the only role that i didnt like her playing. Akira was weak and to me thats not what i see when i see/listen to other characters that Noto voices on any other series that she either star in or as a support character. Though i own Shadow Star Narutaru the reason being because im a huge fan of hers ^_^

Kara no Kyoukai was a good Movie/Ova series its a shame that it wasnt blogged on here, but anyway back to Mamiko Noto’s character Fujino i believed that Show Spoiler ▼

she was raped

and that traumatized her and that led her to being psychotic, am i right or am i wrong? and on Jigoku Shoujo when they revealed about her past on the series didnt she go a little psychotic were she killed everyone in her village.

Her senses were completely sealed by drugs and during one of her rape sessions, the thugs beat her senses back. Sensing intense pain and maybe pleasure from the rape instantaneously, her telekinesis powers came back and tore the rapist apart. Other thugs were there and became witnesses. She wants to keep her powers a secret so she went on a personal killing spree to shut them up, not knowing that she enjoys the slaughter.

And yeah, Jigoku Shoujo went batshit too. In summary, batshit insane Noto-sama is best Noto-sama. XD

I’m starting to suspect Saya has Munchausen syndrome by proxy, given that she seems to be deliberately trying to cause psychological issues in the students under her care to 1) feel better about herself and b) gain some sort of satisfaction at being a “savior” of sorts if the Otherworld depiction is anything to go by.

I have been watching Anime a long time. Only now do I feel as frustrated as those who couldn’t understand Blood-C! I am totally frustrated by this episode. I couldn’t grasp anything! I needed this post so bad in order to get it, cause I could understand BRS killing the children in the dream world was actually freeing them! I knew the counselor was Black Gold Saw but I got confused with BRS’s motivations. Your write-up put me right. Thanks!

Not sure if she is insecure herself, or if she is just enjoying tormenting souls, judging by her psychotic smirk. She was also looking at the class roster, as if indicating which of her “toys” she likes best.

I like your theories Divine, kinda works into my own: the girls in the other world might be a shield for Saya, but also for their real-world counterparts, like a way of running from their problems. This could explain why Kagari got better so fast after Chariot bought it; Kagari had to face all her problems and feelings herself instead of Chariot gobbling them up. When Arata’s other self was “grown” she was in a state of real emotional flux, then started sweeping how she really felt under the rug. Now that BRS took out her other self, I’d bet we’re gonna see Arata put the fear of gods into that spineless tool she confessed and his idiot friends… or at least have a really good cry over it on Mato’s shoulder.

Why is BGS/Saya doing this? Could be anything from needing other girl’s emotions for strength to just doing it because she can to needing the feeling of superiority. The fact that BRS killed Arata’s other self instead of taking her under her wing seems to indicate that nothing good can come from them though, which raises the question: is BRS any different, and how?

Yomi is obviously gay for Mato. She even went stark yandere when Mato started talking about Yuu over the phone. We still haven’t seen her lose it yet but I guess Yuu will grow jealous of Yomi once BRS beats Dead Master(Mato saves Yomi). If Yomi wasn’t gay, why would she be jealous and complain being “just” a friend?
Saya might be interested in Mato and Yomi, given how she marked Mato and Yomi’s names on the list. I dunno why she did her imitation of Yomi turning her invitation down though.
Kagari(or is it Cagalli?) was(or maybe still is) possessive of Yomi.

I just thought Saya was making fun of Yomi, mocking her innocent and shyness. This episode really made it seem like Saya/BGS were leaning more towards the evil side of the spectrum. Especially Saya, that manipulative coffee-weilder!

I’ve got it! It’s all a conspiracy to increase Saya’s funding as a school psychologist. By purposely making the student feel more emotional distress, Saya can reveal to the PTA and the principle that her job is actually worth funding. (Because, honestly why would middle-schoolers need a psyche. Middle school’s the best time of your life.)

In all seriousness, I think BGS/Saya is just a troll. Something probably happened during her junior high life that made her emotionally damaged, so she wants to find the most happy-go-lucky kids and make them suffer as well as a form of revenge.

If they made it more then 8 episodes they need to introduce us more characters/girls for the main character to get jealous with. And then viewers going to get bored because the plot going to be in the same format. Girl get A jealous because of girl B or something. Do you want to see this kind of plot all the way until 20+ episodes? Not me.

probably more but those were all I found in tv tropes. the anime though is limited due to how they set it up. they can have several characters, but by adding the human world would mean too many characters(2x the otherworld characters) so I can sort of understand…

but look at all those characters! it would be interesting and possible to just cut off the human world aspect and focus on these characters in the otherworld. there’s a maid, a gunner, etc. enough to have a blast!

If there is one anime that really really REALLY captivate me this season it will be no other than this series…Black Rock Shooter…What can I say? It has gorgeous animation, beautiful music, great characters, and best of all a story that is really engaging that makes me pay a great deal of attention to what is happening on the screen.

Seriously, I have to give credit to Ryo for composing the BRS theme as well as using the vocals of Miku which I think is the right choice making him a very famous composer within the Vocaloid community (and eventually a very famous composer outside that community), and Huke for making BRS characters, and to all others who contributed to making the song famous enough that an anime series was made out of it.

I agree,like whenever Yomi is mentioned by Mato as “kotori Asobi”,Mato blushes and makes weird
faces,well main cast is all female so its obvious its yuri,most of yuri anime out there share almost the same plot so its no surprise and there is Kagari who is extremely possessive of Yomi,Yomi is jealous of Yuu cause she wants to keep Mato all to herself and I am guessing Yuu is somehow interested in Saya aka BGS as she was buying something for her mentioning it to mato at the shop,its prooved yuri.end of statement.

On another note I forgot to mention,
that scene was where Saya was doing her best to convince her how terrible she felt.. oh my goosh, that sent chills down my spine mainly because I could relate to it since I used to have to go to a therapist just like that. >A<

I want to give the show the benefit of doubt and assume its more deeper and complicated than it looks(or, alternately, your views on this, Divine):

BGS is actually a good and well-intentioned character. she’s just trying to coax out the characters personalities from that water-sprinkling moment in order to make them accept it. sayo also tried to coax out arata from her shell, they just exaggerated the moment to make her look like the bad guy.
BRS is also a good person who wants to help out. however, her ways of doing it goes a bit too far like with this. notice how she didnt fight back at chariot until after mato talked with sayo since she wasnt used to having a person who hated her. she’s just “forceful” and/or doesnt know how to properly handle it and thus results with last ep and with this.

of course, it could be as simple as your thoughts, Divine. but I dont want BGS to be a bad guy, so I decided to go with this theory for the moment.
like with my other comment above, I would prefer if this one didnt have the real world mirroring. I want to see BGS be a friend/rival to BRS rather than a villain/evil person to be defeated. they have plenty of similarities & opposites that I cant help ship them and assume they have a deeper relationship one way(friend) or another(rival), than just “a bad guy to be defeated”.

then there is also the story of the “little bird that met several colors”(forgot the title of that book in here). the ending line of how “the little bird got painted with too many colors that she became dull” makes it seem like mato/BRS might go too far with their intentions.
or it could also be about sayo/BGS and how they “cultivate” the characters.
*shrug*

Well, I didnt see the OVA, so can’t compare and dont know much of the characters and their connections, but loved the subtle jellies from Yomi and cheerful genki face Arata showed to the world against her misfortune… IDK about the counsellor, but she seems to be somehow feeding off the others people misfortunes?
Meanwhile BRS in the another world is something between adorable badass and creepy one, which lends itself to far too many interpretations (especially since she doesnt say anything).

Yep, Saya-sensei came off as a tremendous b*tch, emotionally manipulating the girls into feeling worse than they did before. I’m sad we didn’t get to see more of Kohata’s Other Self, but given the OSs left to be shown, I’m okay with her comdensed screentime.

I still like the charsacter designs and art style of the OVA a bit more than the cell-shading here, but the plot is really interesting – even if it’s hardly subtle. At least Yomi’s case is a bit moreso, as you said.

So this episode kind of really openly hint at Saya being BGS.
Me like everyone else wonders what is her motive.
Wonderful theory about it there, Divine :)

So far what BRS brings across to me is “life sucks”.

I hope they will explain the ‘Dream World’ (kind of like an ‘emotional internet’ with everyone’s heads linked).
Is it black magic or alien technology?
What are those ‘lower beings’ planted by BGS?
Will they grow to ‘upper beings’ like BRS, DM, BGS etc?
I want to know the world view, character caste etc.
Or perhaps it will be left unexplained, a ‘beautiful’ metaphor left to one’s interpretation?